Saddam accuses UN weapons inspectors of espionage

According to Saddam, the inspectors are now showing greater interest in Iraq's conventional armaments that in its alleged weapons of mass destruction. Pressured by the U.S., they have begun to draw up lists of Iraqi scientists and to interview personnel at sites under examination, posing questions that have nothing to do with the UN mission, he said. He went on to classify such actions as "pure intelligence." Saddam Hussein accused the United States of plotting an act of aggression against Iraq, saying that nothing could foil such designs as effectively as his nation's steadfast readiness to confront the aggression. The Iraqi people are ready for any scenario the events may follow, he added emphatically.

The Iraqi leader labeled the U.S. threats to Iraq as snake hissing and dog barking. "We are on home turf, and the truth is on our side. They will prevail on whose side the truth is," Hussein emphasized. The Iraqis are confident of themselves and their capabilities, he remarked.

More than 5.8 million people voted for Nicholas Maduro at the presidential election in Venezuela. This is more than a quarter of registered voters. Why did those people vote for the man, who, as Western media write, took Venezuela to the brink of collapse?